Yorkshire Sports Therapy - Nicola Nelson

Yorkshire Sports Therapy - Nicola Nelson My name is Nicola, I am a Sport Rehabilitator. Nicola Nelson - MSc Graduate Sport Rehabilitation, (GSR) BASRaT registered.
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My Job role involves, diagnosing, treating & managing musculoskeletal pain

I enjoy posting about

•MSK Pain & the Holistic Treatment Approaches We Use

•Strength & Conditioning

•Longevity & Living well Sports Rehabilitation involves the diagnosis, treatment and management of musculoskeletal injuries. GSR's have extensive knowledge in anatomy , physiology, biomechanics and psychology in sport. Regulated by BASRaT, accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. Evidence based physical therapy using high quality studies in the treatment of MSK injury. Additional qualifications:

•MSc Sport Rehabilitation

•BSc Health Related Exercise & Fitness

•Sports Massage level 4 qualified

•Acupuncture

•Dry and Wet Cupping

•Personal Trainer and group Exercise instructor.

17/03/2026

Hi all, hope everyone is well.

Just a reminder about the services, if you have pain/ injury you need the rehab service. Sports massage is for maintenance.

Rehab session - assessment and re assessment each visit can take 15-30 mins before any hands on work. Includes exercise prescriptions via video and progressive management along each visit.

Sports massage = no assessment , very little idea what I’m treating and what is causing pain.

If you turn up in pain and refuse an assessment I have every right to refuse the treatment.

If you have pain I can work around it in some cases during a sports massage but it won’t include any treatment advice / management.

Please bear this in mind when selecting your treatment

09/03/2026

There is a strong correlation of a poorly functioning core and back pain.

Excessive lower back arching, pelvis dropping when walking, poor single leg balance and lower back pain are reported as signs of a poorly functioning core.

The main function of the core is said to be stability of the spine, resisting motion of the trunk while the arms and legs move and load transfer.

Below are some exercise examples that target the key core functions.

1. Compressions - L sits , tuck holds

Theses types of exercises Pull the rib cage towards the pelvis, used in calisthenics and gymnastic - heavily uses the deep abdominal wall, Abbs, TVA, internal obliques and hip flexors.

2. Anti Extension - Abb Roll outs / planks

These core exercise help prevent the lower back from arching. Primarily Abbs, TVA and obliques.

3. Anti Flexion - Incline Sit Up / crunches

These are what people tend to do the most, ab crunches , flexion of the spine primarily targets the abdominals. Too much is said the stress the intervertebral discs.

4. Anti Rotation - Pallof Press / bird dog

Prevents the torso from twisting when the arms and legs are moving when running for example, it helps keep the hips facing forward.

5. Anti Lateral Flexion -
Side planks / unilateral carries

Helps with SIJ stability and force transference, keeps the torso upright when carrying loads. Quadratus Lumborum / QL, TVA and obliques.

Does your abb/ core workout include all of the above key core functions? Or are you a serial cruncher ?

08/03/2026

Diezal had an excellent outing today at K9 Adventure- Dog Topia Tyersal. I’m Feeling more confident with him off the lead after our session. With it all being enclosed I could wonder into the woods and test his recall. He found me in seconds, came skidding up and down the bankings after exploring on his own. He loved it 😊.

05/03/2026

Some drills to help progress to a handstand straddle press. I’m a long way off yet but it’s so much fun and really challenging on the your body especially the core.

Intermediate level

1. Fitball pike with single leg hold

2. TRX pike - try to stack the hips over shoulders and hands , added in hip abduction/ straddle

3. Wall handstands, eccentrics, slowly using the core to lower the legs

05/03/2026

If you’ve been on my page a while you will of seen the videos of Sonia progressing over the months/ years.

We’ve worked a lot on pull ups , I mean how cool is it to see girls doing pull ups ?

Anyway in some of the earlier pull up videos you may have noticed the left shoulder elevated as she pulled herself up.

This was a muscle imbalance caused by the left side lower traps, Serratus, latts and core / obliques being weaker and leading to the right side compensating.

Some of the exercises In this session were to correct these imbalances.

1. Abduction and internal/external rotation ( warms up the rotator cuff)

2. Scapula Retraction dead hangs / scapular pull ups - these activate the lower traps, Serratus anterior, Rhomboid and Lats . Retraining scapular depression before the pulling begins.

3. Unilateral Latt pull downs- the main pulling muscles. Working one side on its own balanced out right and left strength imbalances.

4. Paused Reps - for strength, symmetry and shoulder blade control. Stopping half way as it’s said to be the sticking point in pull ups when strength slows down.

5. Assisted pull ups, focus on retracting and depressing the shoulders, latt activation and pulling through the full ROM of the exercise under a lighter load, with a focus on mechanics.

You can see a clear difference in scapular control from the earlier videos

04/03/2026

A few clips from some of Matthew’s sessions. Strength Training for his marathon in April and working on some minor niggles. Some of the exercise choices below ⬇️

Tuck hold on Parallel Bars -
Deep core and hip flexor strength to help knee drive and running efficiency. A Weak core + hip flexors can cause:
• Over-arching lower back
• Anterior pelvic tilt
• Inefficient stride mechanics

Palloff Press -
Anti rotation exercise that teaches the core to resist rotation when the arms and legs move when running for example.

Adductor slides - this exercise helps with groin strength, useful for cutting movements / lateral strength, hip strength and preventing groin strains .

Unilateral RDL -
Great for athletes and runners as it helps muscle imbalances with single leg stances.
•Glute strength
•Ankle stability / balance
•Posterior Chain

02/03/2026

Practicing headstand straddle press in between my main work out rest periods.
I’m getting used to being upside down without feel crazy dizzy 🙃 it’s taken a while like 🙄

The head rush you feel when upside down is changes in blood pressure from blood going to the head with gravity.

There is also pressure on the skull from contact with the ground and the vestibular system (inner ear) sences a big change, making you feel disorientated.

It’s common for beginners to unconsciously hold their breath as the tension builds from the exercise, causing light headedness and blood pressure spikes.

With regular practice the body becomes efficient, regulates breathing as you relax, the circularity system adapts and the vestibular system gets used to inversion.

Slowly adjusting will help with the head rushes. Start by Gradually going upside down 🙃
With exercises such a Down dogs, pike presses and plank walks, in short bursts of 10-30 seconds. Breath normally and practice slow decent.

Occasional pressure is normal, but stop if you get:

-Sharp headache
-Changes in vision
-Prolonged Dizziness
-Pessure or pain in the neck

My main work out (working on building speed and power)

1. Explosive body weight pull ups, goal is to get more height.

2. Weighted pull ups + dips for strength.

3. Jumping muscle ups with straight bar dips.

4. Headstand straddles for balance and core strength.

02/03/2026

Doing her thing, looking amazing as per usual 🔥

Time off the gym due to injury, illness or just a busy life ?

Worried about muscle loss ?

Did you know your muscles have memory?

Muscle memory is when the body makes neurological and cellular changes to be able to regain strength, size, and skill after a break from training or after injury, often returning faster than the time it took to build initially.

Research suggests -

• People who were previously trained regain strength quicker than non trained individuals as they have more satellite cells and have built stronger neural Pathways.

• Injured athletes regain lost muscle faster than beginners

• Technique-based exercises return quicker than pure hypertrophy

- Taking time off training muscle loss

•1 week = nothing major

•2 weeks = minimal loss, regained fast

• 3–4 weeks = some loss, but muscle memory kicks in

• 6+ weeks = noticeable but reversible

Rebuilding is usually faster due to muscle memory. When you build muscle:
• Muscle fibres grow (hypertrophy)
• You add myonuclei via satellite cells

Even if the muscle shrinks during detraining, those extra myonuclei stay.

Research suggests:
• Neural adaptations last years
• Myonuclei may last very long-term (possibly permanently)

How to Slow Muscle Loss

Even during breaks:
• Maintain protein intake at (1.6–2.2g/kg/BW)
• Light resistance training 1–2x per week to help preserve muscle mass
• Isometrics can help during injury.
• Blood flow restriction useful in rehab

Imobilised limbs, casts and non weightbaring limbs lose muscle at a faster rate as there is no mechanical tension. Perimenopause, fat loss phases and rest from activity can also effect muscle loss at different rates due to

Hormonal changes, calorie deficits and reduced protein intakes

27/02/2026

Here is a little warm up I use in sessions before the main workout, especially before exercises that put excessive pressure on the wrists, require good mobility and core strength like the exercises in the previous videos. ( handstands/ headstands)

1. Wrist flexion and extension

- This prepares the wrists for the weight of your body

2. Jefferson Curls

- Weighted spinal mobility, stretches posterior chain. Improves forwards folding.

3. Elephant walks

- These get you used to being upside down and similar to Jefferson curls except unweighted.

4. Pancake

- Hamstring, adductor , hip and lumbar flexibility.

6. Compressions

- Hip flexors and core strength

7. Plank walkouts

- Core and shoulder strength

8. Frog stance / Crow

- Balance, arm, shoulder and core strength. Body awareness before attempting a headstand.

9 Headstand balance and slow decent / knee tucks close to a wall

-Builds strength, balance, body awareness and confidence in preparation for a handstand

10. Handstand against wall kick up or wall walks.

- Advanced exercises after practicing and mastering the beginner ones.

I’d recommend doing them in the listed order after 3 mins CV low intensity.

25/02/2026

Practicing what I preach …..

I don’t just teach clients and watch them do the hard work, I do it myself.

Your body needs a strong foundation for headstand push ups -

Strong Shoulders / Upper back -

• Help keep your body stacked.
• For control, balance and preventing collapsing
• Stability and Strength

Strong Stable Core

• Prevents the banana shape handstand
• Helps keep you balanced

Strong Glutes

• Helps you keep your hips over ribs and ribs stacked over the shoulders
• Prevents over arching / banana shape

Hand, wrist and Elbow stability

• lockout strength and balance through the hands

24/02/2026

Today we smashed handstand walks with minimal support, got a PB on pull ups, 4 consecutive and first time getting toes to bar , Sonia got 4 reps back to back on this too 🤛 and just look at her 6 pack 👀 💪.

24/02/2026

Today we smashed handstand walks with minimal support, got a PB on pull ups, 4 consecutive and first time getting toes to bar , Sonia got 4 reps back to back on this too 🤛 and just look at her 6 pack 👀 💪.

Address

Yorkshire Sports Therapy, Quarry Gap Row, The Gap, Tyresal, 250 Dick Lane
Bradford
BD48JH

Telephone

+447830529573

Website

https://app.rehabguru.com/appointments/2cce8088fd7b3023514621593debfe8d%3

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